crazycatlady
Young Bun
I haven’t been on here in ages but thought it was time for an updated on the rabbit shed project i mentioned a few months back.
Whilst it’s still not finished it is habitable and the rabbits have moved outside. It has taken me a lot longer than planned and it will need loads more work, but I am getting there
if only the weather was nicer and the days had more hours...
The major delay in getting this started was the weather ( too cold to paint, to we to get it up) and once I did start putting the shed up it became clear that the shed folks we had bought it from had sold it with a wrong item description (doors couldn’t be fitted where I needed them which was to the left hand side (where they are now) ) . This resulted in a two month battle with the supplier and it wasn’t sorted until nearly 3 months after I had bought the shed ..
The Shed itself is a pretty good size so I’ll have loads of room to play with when it comes to the inside ( Width: 2.94m (9ft8) B. Depth: 1.95m (6ft5)
Our garden however is TINY so we no longer have a patio
The shed sits on bricks on top of which we built a very sturdy timber frame and on top off that rests the actual shed floor istself. We had a friend help with the base as I was running out of time (its really straight forward though) all of the rest I did myself ( the husband assisted when a 2nd pair of hands was needed but he's not exactly what I would call a talented DIYer
Here are the tweaks I made so far
Tweaks still on the to do list
Since you small garden is completely enclosed we have now started to just let them out during the day (one of us is usually at home ), should they want out at night they have the run they can access via the runaround pipe.
The first few months when they lived indoors they were free- range upstairs so we already know that there are no issues at all between them and our 5 cats and they are often all outside together.
The cover on the Run is an extremely lucky co-incidence btw. It was the cover of the table that used to live on the patio before we put the shed there and it is EXACTLY the same width as the run and EXACTLY the same height also! I opened the stitching on one of the short ends and we clip it to the cage with office clips ( the ones with the metal wing thingies) . It works a charme, is watertight, gives shade ( we can roll up the sides if we want) and it’s a perfect "made to measure" fit.
When it was colder I used left over insulation board that I cut to size and stuck it into the run as a partition so they had a wind and water proof separate area under the run cover (with a big hay filled under bed storage box) .
the weather is awful at the moment and I am way too busy, so the interior will have to wait a little longer (plus they are outside a lot) but i am hoping to get it all sorted before fall. yeeeeaaah !
ah and here is a picture of my original plan again ...
Whilst it’s still not finished it is habitable and the rabbits have moved outside. It has taken me a lot longer than planned and it will need loads more work, but I am getting there
if only the weather was nicer and the days had more hours...The major delay in getting this started was the weather ( too cold to paint, to we to get it up) and once I did start putting the shed up it became clear that the shed folks we had bought it from had sold it with a wrong item description (doors couldn’t be fitted where I needed them which was to the left hand side (where they are now) ) . This resulted in a two month battle with the supplier and it wasn’t sorted until nearly 3 months after I had bought the shed ..
The Shed itself is a pretty good size so I’ll have loads of room to play with when it comes to the inside ( Width: 2.94m (9ft8) B. Depth: 1.95m (6ft5)
Our garden however is TINY so we no longer have a patio
The shed sits on bricks on top of which we built a very sturdy timber frame and on top off that rests the actual shed floor istself. We had a friend help with the base as I was running out of time (its really straight forward though) all of the rest I did myself ( the husband assisted when a 2nd pair of hands was needed but he's not exactly what I would call a talented DIYer
Here are the tweaks I made so far
- put down 2 inch thick pony stable mats as a base and for insulation
- covered the stable mats with non slip PVC flooring ( I took it up the wall a few inches on all sides also ( like the floor in a public toilet ) so it smoothly bends upwards can’t collect dirt in the corners and can be washed very wet as the water is contained)
- insulated the walls and ceiling with approx 1 inch tick Cylotex (aluminium covered high density polystyrene which is manufactured to insulated houses)
- provisionally covered the bottom of the walls with 3mm hardboard panels ( just so they can’t chew the insulation for now)
- Made a 2nd set of doors that I fitted behind the doors ( top and bottom are covered in fly screen and the bottom is re-inforced with wire mesh so we can leave the doors open without them being able to break through)
- Fitted the rabbit run-around pipe and attached it to their run ( the run is 4,40 meter in length ( approx 14.4 ft) and it’s actually two runs that I joined together
- fitted additional bolts and hinges ( now it closes and locks nice and tight)
Tweaks still on the to do list
- The entire interior really
- Double up the “wall uprights” so they are thicker and I can bring the insulation boards further in and further away from the outside wall ( for a bigger gap between wall and insulation so incoming moisture can dry off better)
- Clad the walls ( still haven’t decided on the product , think it will be PVC though)
- Fit the L -shaped shelves ( two “storeys” along the long back wall and around the corner along the right hand side so they can look out of the window)
- I want to also build a little roofed run on the concrete strip under the shed windows
- I want to take the current run apart and frame it with wood so it can all be connected with hinges for more stability (although we aren’t currently sure if we will even need a run in the future, we might just let them use the garden at their own free will with a smaller run on the concrete strip for the nights)
Since you small garden is completely enclosed we have now started to just let them out during the day (one of us is usually at home ), should they want out at night they have the run they can access via the runaround pipe.
The first few months when they lived indoors they were free- range upstairs so we already know that there are no issues at all between them and our 5 cats and they are often all outside together.
The cover on the Run is an extremely lucky co-incidence btw. It was the cover of the table that used to live on the patio before we put the shed there and it is EXACTLY the same width as the run and EXACTLY the same height also! I opened the stitching on one of the short ends and we clip it to the cage with office clips ( the ones with the metal wing thingies) . It works a charme, is watertight, gives shade ( we can roll up the sides if we want) and it’s a perfect "made to measure" fit.
When it was colder I used left over insulation board that I cut to size and stuck it into the run as a partition so they had a wind and water proof separate area under the run cover (with a big hay filled under bed storage box) .
the weather is awful at the moment and I am way too busy, so the interior will have to wait a little longer (plus they are outside a lot) but i am hoping to get it all sorted before fall. yeeeeaaah !
ah and here is a picture of my original plan again ...
